Romance Books Uncovered

Friday Free Reads: eHarlequin.com

Myla — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:42:49 +0000

Ya ya, I know. It seems I just can’t get off the Cheap Thrills category. What can I say? Being thrifty is in my blood! With the amount of romance books I read, I have to find some way to sustain it and still be able to eat!

So every now and again I go on a search binge. On one of my searches I discovered eHarlequin. I’ve known about Harlequin books since I was a teenager, so it was interesting to check out their website.

Here are some of the deals I found:

1. Free Shipping

You automatically get free shipping on your first order. If you’re not new to eHarlequin.com, then get free shipping if your order is over $25. That’s not bad if you consider Chapters is $39 and Amazon is $30.

2. 20% Daily Discount

Although I prefer to browse in a bookstore (and have spent hours doing so), I tend to order my books online because it is generally cheaper to do so. At eHarlequin.com, they take 20% off the cover price. Not bad. Then there’s 40% off with Books on a Budget. Not bad at all. Combine that with the free shipping mentioned above and we’re good to go!

On a side note: The selection for 40% off seems limited to 28 books. But I believe they rotate the selection each month. To be confirmed in March.

3. Freebie Friday

Ah Friday, one of the most favored days of the week. Better and better when eHarlequin.com offers something free every Friday. The catch is you have to buy two or more books to get the “weekly featured book absolutely FREE”. It also “excludes eBooks and Themed Collections”. Curious about whether this included the Books on a Budget, I pretended to add two books to the shopping cart. Yay, they qualify!

4. Absolutely FREE (really)

Most of the time, I find Harlequin books to be teasers – appetizers for my romantic and sexy soul. It think it’s because I gobble up the books within the same day and end up looking for more (although I haven’t tried the super romances yet). With that short time span, I decided not to buy them anymore even if I did enjoy them. Instead, I read the FREE Online Reads in between books:

Daily Online Read – a new chapter every weekday
Weekly Online Read – a new chapter every Monday
Special Event Read – a new chapter each weekday
Online Reads Library – a collection of featured reads from various imprints (Harlequin, Silhouette, MIRA, Red Dress Ink, etc) and previous reads you might have missed

This would be a good place to start if you’ve never read one of their books and you’re hesitant to buy.

Anyway, TGIF! Have a great weekend!

Free Reads: Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld Series

Myla — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:54:24 +0000

Not too long ago, I discovered Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series (paranormal suspense) and started reading them back to back. Yes, it was like I had an addiction. When I finished the last one, Frostbitten, I felt so lost and sad that Kelley didn’t have another one I can read right away. To see if she had other books available (and yes, to torture myself), I thought I would check out her website.

Well didn’t I feel like I just hit the jackpot when I found that she had FREE short stories – and all take place in the Otherworld with series characters! Yahoo!

Check them out (listed in chronological order):

Rebirth (online, PDF) – Aaron’s first year as a vampire
Demonology (online, PDF) – Talia discovers the truth about her son, Adam’s, heritage
The Case of the Half-Demon Spy (online, PDF) – Paige & Adam’s first sleuthing adventure
Truth and Consequences (online, PDF) – Elena handles a con artist
Territorial (online, PDF) – Karl Marsten before the events of Bitten
Escape (online, PDF) – Eve’s incarceration at the compound
Adventurer (online, PDF) – A Kenneth adventure!
Bargain (online, PDF) – Xavier gets the “From Hell” letter theft job
Framed (online, PDF) – Nick wakes up beside a dead woman (2007 e-serial, unedited)
Becoming (JPG, PDF) – The story of Elena’s “becoming” a werewolf (graphic novella, first half)

Enjoy!

Romance and sales: What a great combination!

Myla — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:51:14 +0000

Valentine’s Day (sigh), the day of romance. I find that when I’m in the single state during this particular day, a good romance book just makes my day. So what did I do today? You got it (grin) – parked myself on the couch all day and read romance ebooks (with food and bathroom breaks of course).

The only thing is, I’m a fast reader. And if you’re like me, the authors you like don’t write fast enough to keep you with non-stop reading material. Drives me mad! So I end up rabidly searching for new authors in between. I haunt the Chapters aisles (which are thankfully just a 5-minute drive from my place), picking up books that catch my interest. I search online (which can take literally hours … and yes, which means some pretty late nights), hoping for some glowing recommendations from readers who have the same reading preference as I do.

The only thing is, I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I take a chance on a new writer. Do you know the feeling? To buy, or not to buy? Will I be disappointed? Then there is the point when you’re on the verge of paying, and you doubt your choice. Will I like the book? Am I wasting my money? I know, I can always go to the library and not worry about the cost. But for some strange and stupid reason that I don’t know about (perhaps I need therapy), I’ve never been able to go that route. Knowing that I could search online and download pirated ebook copies just makes me feel guilty (ya, maybe I really need therapy). Besides, I believe that writers deserve to be compensated for their work.

So it makes it that much more sweeter when I luck out and find another much-favored author whom I can collect, cherish and read over and over again. When I can do so cheaply, like during a sale, then all the better! To start you off, here are some sales that I found online:

Chapters – Romance Bargain Books
eHarlequin / eHarlequin eBook Store – Valentine’s Weekend sale: Get an EXTRA 14% off all books
Ellora’s Cave/Cerridwen Press – Buy one at 10%, get one free for a friend

Because I want this post to happen on Valentine’s day, I’m going to stop writing and click the “Publish” button (smile). Don’t worry, I’ll keep on the Cheap Thrills lookout and post them as I find them. Maybe I’ll dedicate a page to it. Please feel free to comment about sales that you’ve found.

Happy Romance Reading!